It must be summer! I ran into mosquitoes on Hot Creek today. When the afternoon clouds rolled in the mosquitoes came out of the grass. The afternoon rain showers are slowing down the snow runoff which means some of the rivers and creeks are starting to run clear, but still high. Water is cold and fish are not feeding voraciously like they should at this time of the year. I’m seeing hatching caddis, mayflies and midges, but for the most part the trout are feeding on the larvae not the hatching adults. Bass, bluegill and carp offer a fun alternative to the blown out stream fly fishing. Still waters that are iced out are another alternative for fly fishing.
Bluegill are a fun fish on the fly rod and the Buckley Ponds is a great spot to fly fish in the afternoon after chasing trout.
Lower Owens River
Wild Trout Section:
Unsafe to fish until flows recede. Maybe flows will be fishable in October.
Lower Owens River at 750 CFS is unfishable and not safe to be around.
Hot Creek:
Interpretive Site:
Water is high and flowing clear. A mayfly hatch has a few trout coming to the surface. Most of the trout are feeding on nymphs. I’m fishing a heavy Euro nymph rig with 10.5 mm of tungsten beads. I’m using a pheasant tail, stoner nymph and Mark’s UV hare’s ear. This has been a quality fishery not a quantity fishery right now. I’m hooking rainbows and browns in the 16 to 20 inch range, but only a few of them.
Upper Hot Creek Canyon flats offers slower water for fly fishers to get their nymphs down on the substrate.
Hot Creek
Canyon Section:
Water is high and fast, but at least its clear. Lots of weight in the nymphs or on the line in the form of split shot. Two size BB split shot was not enough to keep my pheasant tail nymph on the substrate under the indicator. I’ve been fishing the slower water sections like the flats below Hot Creek Ranch. Brown trout to 16 inches have been taking my nymphs on the Euro rig. Bright colored flies like rainbow warriors, eggs and San Juan worms are fooling a few trout. Success is hanging up on the bottom and covering lots of water to find that one or two trout that are willing to take the flies you are fishing.
Upper Owens is flowing high, cold and clear, but is not producing many trout .
Upper Owens River
Above Benton Crossing Bridge:
The water is still up but it is no longer running muddy. The roads are slowly drying out and most roads are accessible. I would still use the utmost caution where you are driving on the dirt roads. A few cutthroats are in the system, but they never showed up in fishable quantities this spring. For fly fishers nymphing on the substrate a few large resident trout are taking bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, stoners, bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ears and green/gold Prince nymphs. Successful anglers are covering lots of water for a few trout.
Fishing from Alligator Point to the mouth of the upper Owens River is where most fly fishers are concentrating their efforts.
Crowley Lake:
The north arm of the lake is where most of the fly fishers are midging. The fish are in 15 to 20 feet of water and are taking midges three inches to four feet off of the substrate. As the sun gets higher over the water the midge bite seems to move up off the bottom. Tiger midges, zebra midges, albino Barron’s and balanced leeches in pearl, black and blue and perch are fooling rainbows, browns, cutthroats and Sacramento Perch. A couple of 2.8 pound perch have been landed in the last week or two.
Wild brown trout are taking size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs fished under an indicator.
Bishop Creek Canal:
Behind the Old Ford Dealer:
Water is still high and dirty. Despite the way the water looks nymphs fished on the substrate are producing browns and stocked rainbow trout. Green/gold Prince nymphs, stoner nymphs, hot spot pheasant tail nymphs, bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, olive quilldigons and rainbow warriors are producing wild brown trout and stocked rainbow trout.